Rich
2020-05-03 06:22:47 UTC
The Joy of a Good Conscience (4)
It is characteristic of a humble soul always to do good and to think
little of itself. It is a mark of great purity and deep faith to look
for no consolation in created things. The man who desires no
justification from without has clearly entrusted himself to God: “For
not he who commendeth himself is approved,” says St. Paul, “but he
whom God commendeth.” (2 Cor. 10:18.)
To walk with God interiorly, to be free from any external
affection--this is the state of the inward man.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 6
<<>><<>><<>>
May 3rd - St. Ansfrid
Ansfrid, Count of Brabant, followed a military career under Emperors
Otto III and St. Henry. He married a noble lady, with whom he had one
daughter. Afterwards, the couple agreed to live together as brother
and sister in perfect chastity. The Count founded an abbey at
Heiligenberg in the Diocese of Liège and the Countess expended her
fortune founding and building a Convent at Thorn. Later the noble lady
with her daughter took the religious veil, and both lived lives of
great holiness.
In 974 Ansfrid lay down his weapons, which he had wielded in memorable
campaigns, over the altar of Our Lady, solemnly proclaiming these
words:
“Until today I have combatted for temporal glory in the defense of
the poor, widows and orphans. Henceforth I place myself under the
protection of the Virgin Mary and I will fight unceasingly for the
conquest of souls, the glory of God and my own salvation.”
In 994 he was named Bishop of Utrecht. From time to time he would take
leave of his work in the Diocese to make a retreat at one of the
monasteries he had founded. He died May 3, 1010, and it was not long
before he received the homage due him for his saintly life.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira:
The transition in the life of St. Ansfrid from the state of warrior to
that of ecclesiastic is beautiful. The unity one sees in both states
in which his life was divided is also beautiful. On one hand he was a
knight errant fighting on behalf of the poor, widows and orphans for
the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, as a Bishop he
was also a fighter, but a fighter with a higher aim, i.e., the
salvation of souls. You can see that the attitude of St. Ansfrid,
affirmed by the unity of a life lived in a continuous combat in both
the spiritual and temporal spheres, is quite the opposite of the
pacifist attitude of our days.
For this pacifist mentality, any combat—be it an ideological or
material war—is evil in itself. Men should not fight among themselves
because at depth there is no discordance in ideas. Everything should
be resolved by a dialogue. For this reason the fight is always an
evil.
The live of St. Ansfrid shows us the opposite. When he left the state
of warrior, he did not declare that he was denying that life or that
he thought it was opposed to Catholic ideals. His life is a
confirmation of the notion that war is the normal condition of men on
earth. Obviously war is an evil, but it is a necessary evil that can
be justified in view of a higher good. Therefore, there are things
that are more valuable than peace, and peace can be sacrificed for
them. On one hand, when one has to break the peace, he laments the
fact because he loves peace. But on the other hand, he goes into
combat with joy because he understands that it is a way to serve God
in order to achieve a higher good. Therefore he loves the fight and
war. Both war and the fight share the dignity of the higher good for
which they are made.
Thus St. Ansfrid entered into ecclesiastical life with this spirit:
“I am not leaving my condition of warrior. I will continue to
combat on a higher level, which is the doctrinal and spiritual level.
The fight for the poor, widows and orphans that were part of my life
as a warrior in the temporal sphere will be transformed in the fight
for the interests of the eternal life. But I will continue to fight
because I like being a combatant. I am the same as a Bishop as I was
before as a warrior, because in this life everything is war.
Everything is war because the devil exists, evil exists, original sin
exists. As a consequence the good must maintain a permanent attitude
of militancy. I am proud of this attitude.”
St. Ansfrid is a saint canonized by the Catholic Church, which means
that he practiced the virtue of charity in a heroic way. The
revolutionaries like to say that this virtue is incompatible with
militancy, be it ideological or concrete. However, when the Church
points to the life of St. Ansfrid as a model, she is inviting us to
imitate him. A saint is a living realization of the teachings of Our
Lord in the Gospel.
The life of St. Ansfrid should reinforce in us the notion of the
militant character of the Church. It should encourage us to have a
militant spirit and enjoy the fight for a superior cause, which is the
cause of Our Lady. His life also should give us the certainty that
Catholic doctrine is secure as a rock, completely different from the
pacifist confusion that is being spread everywhere. Pacifism is a
weapon of the Revolution to disarm the human spirit, to anesthetize
it, and to make man easier to be conquered. Therefore, we live in a
time of vigilance, fight, and faith.
Saint Quote
Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Here is the true token of a soul
absolutely perfect: when one has succeeded in leaving behind his own
will to such a degree as no longer to seek, to aim, or to desire to do
what he would will, but only what God wills.
--St. Bernard
Bible Quote:
Each will receive his own reward according to his labor.( I Cor. 3:8)
<><><><>
Prayer--Goffine's Devout Instructions
How lovely, O God, are Thy tabernacles! My soul longeth and fainteth
for Thy courts, O living God, Who art the crown and reward of the
saints, and repayest their sufferings and sorrows in this world with
eternal joy. How blessed are all they who, in this life, have served
Thee faithfully! They behold Thee and the Lamb of God face to face;
they bear Thy name on their foreheads, and reign with Thee forever. We
therefore beseech Thee, O God, through their intercessor, to grant us
Thy grace to serve Thee after their example, in sanctity and justice;
to follow them in poverty, humility, meekness, repentance, in ardent
longing for all virtues, in peace-making and patience, and one day,
like them, to share in the joys of heaven. Amen.
It is characteristic of a humble soul always to do good and to think
little of itself. It is a mark of great purity and deep faith to look
for no consolation in created things. The man who desires no
justification from without has clearly entrusted himself to God: “For
not he who commendeth himself is approved,” says St. Paul, “but he
whom God commendeth.” (2 Cor. 10:18.)
To walk with God interiorly, to be free from any external
affection--this is the state of the inward man.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 6
<<>><<>><<>>
May 3rd - St. Ansfrid
Ansfrid, Count of Brabant, followed a military career under Emperors
Otto III and St. Henry. He married a noble lady, with whom he had one
daughter. Afterwards, the couple agreed to live together as brother
and sister in perfect chastity. The Count founded an abbey at
Heiligenberg in the Diocese of Liège and the Countess expended her
fortune founding and building a Convent at Thorn. Later the noble lady
with her daughter took the religious veil, and both lived lives of
great holiness.
In 974 Ansfrid lay down his weapons, which he had wielded in memorable
campaigns, over the altar of Our Lady, solemnly proclaiming these
words:
“Until today I have combatted for temporal glory in the defense of
the poor, widows and orphans. Henceforth I place myself under the
protection of the Virgin Mary and I will fight unceasingly for the
conquest of souls, the glory of God and my own salvation.”
In 994 he was named Bishop of Utrecht. From time to time he would take
leave of his work in the Diocese to make a retreat at one of the
monasteries he had founded. He died May 3, 1010, and it was not long
before he received the homage due him for his saintly life.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira:
The transition in the life of St. Ansfrid from the state of warrior to
that of ecclesiastic is beautiful. The unity one sees in both states
in which his life was divided is also beautiful. On one hand he was a
knight errant fighting on behalf of the poor, widows and orphans for
the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, as a Bishop he
was also a fighter, but a fighter with a higher aim, i.e., the
salvation of souls. You can see that the attitude of St. Ansfrid,
affirmed by the unity of a life lived in a continuous combat in both
the spiritual and temporal spheres, is quite the opposite of the
pacifist attitude of our days.
For this pacifist mentality, any combat—be it an ideological or
material war—is evil in itself. Men should not fight among themselves
because at depth there is no discordance in ideas. Everything should
be resolved by a dialogue. For this reason the fight is always an
evil.
The live of St. Ansfrid shows us the opposite. When he left the state
of warrior, he did not declare that he was denying that life or that
he thought it was opposed to Catholic ideals. His life is a
confirmation of the notion that war is the normal condition of men on
earth. Obviously war is an evil, but it is a necessary evil that can
be justified in view of a higher good. Therefore, there are things
that are more valuable than peace, and peace can be sacrificed for
them. On one hand, when one has to break the peace, he laments the
fact because he loves peace. But on the other hand, he goes into
combat with joy because he understands that it is a way to serve God
in order to achieve a higher good. Therefore he loves the fight and
war. Both war and the fight share the dignity of the higher good for
which they are made.
Thus St. Ansfrid entered into ecclesiastical life with this spirit:
“I am not leaving my condition of warrior. I will continue to
combat on a higher level, which is the doctrinal and spiritual level.
The fight for the poor, widows and orphans that were part of my life
as a warrior in the temporal sphere will be transformed in the fight
for the interests of the eternal life. But I will continue to fight
because I like being a combatant. I am the same as a Bishop as I was
before as a warrior, because in this life everything is war.
Everything is war because the devil exists, evil exists, original sin
exists. As a consequence the good must maintain a permanent attitude
of militancy. I am proud of this attitude.”
St. Ansfrid is a saint canonized by the Catholic Church, which means
that he practiced the virtue of charity in a heroic way. The
revolutionaries like to say that this virtue is incompatible with
militancy, be it ideological or concrete. However, when the Church
points to the life of St. Ansfrid as a model, she is inviting us to
imitate him. A saint is a living realization of the teachings of Our
Lord in the Gospel.
The life of St. Ansfrid should reinforce in us the notion of the
militant character of the Church. It should encourage us to have a
militant spirit and enjoy the fight for a superior cause, which is the
cause of Our Lady. His life also should give us the certainty that
Catholic doctrine is secure as a rock, completely different from the
pacifist confusion that is being spread everywhere. Pacifism is a
weapon of the Revolution to disarm the human spirit, to anesthetize
it, and to make man easier to be conquered. Therefore, we live in a
time of vigilance, fight, and faith.
Saint Quote
Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? Here is the true token of a soul
absolutely perfect: when one has succeeded in leaving behind his own
will to such a degree as no longer to seek, to aim, or to desire to do
what he would will, but only what God wills.
--St. Bernard
Bible Quote:
Each will receive his own reward according to his labor.( I Cor. 3:8)
<><><><>
Prayer--Goffine's Devout Instructions
How lovely, O God, are Thy tabernacles! My soul longeth and fainteth
for Thy courts, O living God, Who art the crown and reward of the
saints, and repayest their sufferings and sorrows in this world with
eternal joy. How blessed are all they who, in this life, have served
Thee faithfully! They behold Thee and the Lamb of God face to face;
they bear Thy name on their foreheads, and reign with Thee forever. We
therefore beseech Thee, O God, through their intercessor, to grant us
Thy grace to serve Thee after their example, in sanctity and justice;
to follow them in poverty, humility, meekness, repentance, in ardent
longing for all virtues, in peace-making and patience, and one day,
like them, to share in the joys of heaven. Amen.